40 Years Of Dreaming

Ever since the close of World War II, there have been dreamers of many types. Men who thought they could build the better machine. But always it was a dream of flying faster, of setting speed records. Those dreams were realized through sheer force and power using the available inventory of existing warbirds – Mustangs, Corsairs, King Cobras, Bearcats and even in earlier days, Messerschmitts.

Those machines, fast though they were – and are – did not embody the essence of the true dreamer. All of them have been essentially modified versions of production aircraft. Non of them are, in any real sense, originals.

Not since the halcyon days of the pre-war unlimited air racers – the Caudron C-460, the Howard Hughes H-1 and the Gee Bee – have there been anything approaching originality.

Not until, that is, the turn of the decade. Not until the spirit of a new concept in unlimited air racing started to take shape; started to become more than a dream.

That concept, now a reality, is Tsunami. The name is Japanese for “tidal wave,” and is literally and figuratively a powerful force in nature. It is also the first realization of a dream to build a totally new unlimited class air racer, the first since the pre-war years. Tsunami was designed and built to take on cherished notions about the superiority of WWII aircraft. It’s been a long time since anyone challenged those notions; a long time since anyone dared to dream.

The Beginning

It started with two men meeting at the Reno air races in the late 1970s to consider the possibility – even the feasibility – of an original concept unlimited aircraft. Like the air racing pioneers of the 30s, they met at first just to talk, to exchange ideas in the cafes around Reno, to discuss power plants, airframe design and overall design.

John Sandberg, air racer and entrepreneur, and Bruce Boland, Lockheed aeronautical engineer and veteran designer of previous unlimited air racers, reached the conclusion that aerodynamically efficient design coupled with less than destructive power could produce a world-beating aircraft.

These discussions gelled during the speed record runs of the Red Baron P51 at Tonopah, Nevada, in August 1979.

Boland, the designer, analyzed and re-analyzed the theoretical design looking for a way to fit just the right amount of engine, fuel, coolants and pilot into an aircraft that would weigh in at least 1,500 pounds less than the WWII racers.

The Dream Takes Shape

This vision of a new force in unlimited air racing began to take form in the winter of 1979 in Chatsworth, California. The first metal parts for Tsunami – as she soon came to be called – were cut in anticipation of her first test flight. But due to the sophistication of the design, and the small number of determined personnel involved, it was to be almost seven years until Tsunami saw blue sky.

During its years of development, Tsunami has been called and compared to many things. It’s been said that she is a three-quarter size Mustang, with minor modifications. It’s been said that it resembles the Messerschmitt Me 209. It’s been compared to a Wildcat with a Bearcat rudder.

Above all else, despite what it may look like it “was built for setting records,” according to her owner, John Sandberg.

The dream of beating the best of WWII aircraft – highly modified Mustangs and Hawker Sea Furies – at their own game, but with a different set of percepts, had finally started to emerge.

When Bruce Boland first set out to design Tsunami he looked backward rather than forward. Looked backward to the great designs of the past, to the legendary warbirds that changed the way air racing has been conducted since the late 1930’s. He did so in part because he is a self-acknowledged history buff, and because the aircraft that he and John Sandberg had in mind would utilize the proven power-plant that had been flown in Lancasters during the war.

In truth, Tsunami is unique in design although it looks akin to many great aircraft.

Her engine is a modified Merlin 720, a model built by Rolls Royce and originally used in commercial aircraft. Smaller and lighter than other, similar engines, it will deliver approximately the same power as those found in the venerable Mustangs.

As designed, Tsunami would enjoy an operating weight 30 percent less than that of current propeller-driven air racers.

The fuselage was designed to flow back absolutely, minimally from the Merlin engine, and one look at her slim body confirms that she was built for speed as the entire aircraft tries to hide behind the engine.

One of the design concepts was to use as many readily available parts as possible. Hence, Tsunami is in many ways a conventional aircraft; a very simple aircraft.

When Boland and the rest of the team got around to discussing components, it became clear that 90 percent of the airframe would be built from scratch, while the functional hardware would be selected from existing aircraft. The landing gear would come from an Aerostar; the propeller and spinner from a T28 and P51, respectively; the wheels and brakes are of Learjet origin.

But the design would be original to Tsunami. Of course, there would be existing designs to compare to, but in the end it would look like nothing other than what it was – the first homebuilt, unlimited air racing aircraft in forty plus years.

Design and development concentrated not only on airframe construction, but also on the placement of fuel, coolant, water, oil and anti-detonation formula. What emerged was a concept that put first things first, an engine bay, followed by a “liquids bay” that house most of the liquids on board except fuel, and last but not least, the cockpit.

Not that the pilot was given short shrift. The cockpit is sealed from the rest of the aircraft to preclude the inhalation of fumes by the pilot.

Whatever she has become, Tsunami was, and always intended to be a record getter, and for that reason, the chief design criterion has always been to design and build an aircraft that flies well. Fuel and other liquids were located such that the center of gravity movement during flight would be a minimum.

At its heart, Tsunami is a clean, aerodynamic design with a large, although not gigantic engine designed to propel her past the competition without over stressing anything.

At six feet shorter and with 100 square feet less wing area than its popularly known competitor, the Mustang, Tsunami is compact by comparison.

Its propeller, while beefy looking, is about one foot shorter than the rivals. The reason for this is simple: lower propeller tip speeds provide higher propulsive efficiency at maximum power.

Tsunami is in many ways the embodiment of a trend toward more power, more speed, more titles. But she will seek accolades with one of the smallest engines in her class and with one of the lightest, most efficient airframes in the field.

But the design would be original to Tsunami. Of course, there would be existing designs to compare to, but in the end it would look like nothing other than what it was – the first homebuilt, unlimited air racing aircraft in forty plus years.

Design and development concentrated not only on airframe construction, but also on the placement of fuel, coolant, water, oil and anti-detonation formula. What emerged was a concept that put first things first, an engine bay, followed by a “liquids bay” that house most of the liquids on board except fuel, and last but not least, the cockpit.

Not that the pilot was given short shrift. The cockpit is sealed from the rest of the aircraft to preclude the inhalation of fumes by the pilot.

Whatever she has become, Tsunami was, and always intended to be a record getter, and for that reason, the chief design criterion has always been to design and build an aircraft that flies well. Fuel and other liquids were located such that the center of gravity movement during flight would be a minimum.

At its heart, Tsunami is a clean, aerodynamic design with a large, although not gigantic engine designed to propel her past the competition without over stressing anything.

At six feet shorter and with 100 square feet less wing area than its popularly known competitor, the Mustang, Tsunami is compact by comparison.

Its propeller, while beefy looking, is about one foot shorter than the rivals. The reason for this is simple: lower propeller tip speeds provide higher propulsive efficiency at maximum power.

Tsunami is in many ways the embodiment of a trend toward more power, more speed, more titles. But she will seek accolades with one of the smallest engines in her class and with one of the lightest, most efficient airframes in the field.

The Dream Takes Flight

Anytime you challenge conventional notions about what can’t be done you engender excitement and, in the process, bring out the best of those involved. Tsunami is such a story.

When the California air first lifted her wings at 3:00 pm on August 17, 1986, Tsunami signaled the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. It was the end of the dominance of a class of machine. It was the start of a new way of looking at an existing idea, it was the belief that you can get more out of new technology by applying the right principles, by doing it better than it’s done before.

Tsunami was engineered from tire tread to prop tip to capture the absolute world record for propeller driven aircraft, to take on the competition and win at the air races and to go on to other accomplishments long thought impossible. A run at the absolute, speed record for seaplanes, unbroken since 1934, is also in her plan. Part of her remarkable design includes the adaptability to floats.

And when she has smashed the world’s records, Tsunami will take on a very different role as a research aircraft, a test bed for new fuels and engine combinations. No mere dream, Tsunami has already exceeded record speeds in test flight. And her career has just begun. Equipped with the finest design and materials and supported by some of the world’s most able air racers, she will leave her mark. She will be the wave that the rest will have to catch. For her developers, Tsunami is the fulfillment of a dream, the realization of which has just begun.

A Legend Is Lost

Tsunami went on to compete in the National Championship Air Races from 1986 through 1991 and became the fastest homebuilt propeller driven aircraft in the world. Tragically after the races in 1991, owner John R. Sandberg was ferrying the aircraft home and suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, while on final approach to Pierre, SD. The aircraft was destroyed and Sandberg lost his life.